No 1001 The Time Traveler
by ProjectM.G
Summary: Nano goes back in time using a time machine developed by the Professor. What will she find in the past?


**_Nichijou No. 1001: The Time Traveler_**

* * *

><p>'Professor, I'm home!' shrieked the delighted gyroid as she closed the door behind her. The wind-up key on her back turned and turned in the clockwise direction swiftly.<p>

'Nano? Nano!' The small girl lying down on the floor stopped her half-done drawing of a shark and leapt up happily. She excitedly hopped towards the gyroid and hugged her, putting her to much surprise. 'Nano… I'm so bored while you're not around…' she complained.

'Don't worry, Professor. I'm back now,' consoled Nano, patting the head of the tiny girl gently.

'It's that Sakamoto!' the Professor whined.

'Hey, little brat!' the black cat snapped. His sweet dreams in his illusionary feline world were interrupted by all the shouts and screams from the eight-year-old Professor. 'What have I got to do with you being bored?'

'Sakamoto didn't play with me…' the Professor cried.

'It's not my fault! I thought you were happy drawing your sharks!' retaliated the cat.

'All right, shut up, both of you. Or else you all won't have dinner,' threatened an irritated Nano. She gave the Professor one last hug and proceeded to take off her school shoes.

It was another peaceful day at the Shinonome family.

* * *

><p>'Hey, Professor,' said Nano with a concerned look on her face.<p>

'What's wrong, Nano?' The Professor was busy with her egg-fried rice, her favorite dish.

'Say, Professor, do you believe in cause-and-effect? It's a pretty popular topic in science fictions.'

'Cosine and Eclipse? Those are mathematical topics, Nano,' the Professor played around with her tomato sauce. She drew a shark with it on the egg in the plate.

Nano facepalmed. She regretted asking the Professor.

'Speaking of science,' the Professor suddenly put down her fork and spoon and interrupted. 'Nano, do you want to know why I become a scientist?'

Nano backed away a little. She had never seen her Professor looking so serious before. She was as if possessed by the ghost of a dead old man or something like that. 'Then again, she might be just teasing me,' Nano thought optimistically.

'Al... Alright then. Tell me all about it, Professor.'

'Many years ago, my parents took me to the theme park…' began the Professor. Nano could literally sense an aura of darkness around her. Something seemed not right.

'And then…?' Nano started to shiver.

The Professor paused for a moment and continued in her creepy tone, '…and then…'

Nano paused her breath. What she was going to hear next would be the greatest secret of the Professor. It would be the key to answer everything: why did she become a scientist? Why did she create her?

'…I had my balloon in my hand…' The Professor halted to take a few deep breaths. Nano broke into cold sweat. '…But then…'

'…It slipped out from my hand…' Nano could not wait for her to finish her story. She was very, very nervous. Luckily she was not eating her rice or she would have choked on it.

'…It flew up to the sky and I couldn't reach it, so I thought, "Why not I just invent something to make me taller?" And that's how I become a scientist, Ta-Da!' The Professor broke into hysterical laughter. She cheered and clapped her hands merrily, as if she was proud that she had just trolled Nano with the story of her life.

'That's all?' Nano asked, unsatisfied with the Professor's tale. 'That was so lame,' she could not help but laugh along with the Professor. Sakamoto the cat emptied his dish and curled himself up.

'Oh yeah, Professor,' Nano tried to change the subject.

'What is it, Nano?' she had already calmed down a bit.

'Do you believe in time traveling? I heard that it's another popular topic among science fictions.'

'Think Tanker? Is it something from that TV card game show?' The Professor's idiotic reply made Nano facepalmed herself again.

'Jeez…' Nano grudged.

It was another happy dinner at the Shinonome family.

* * *

><p>'Nano! Nano!' The Professor called out repeatedly.<p>

It was yet another normal day at the peaceful Shinonome residence. Until now, at least.

'What is it, Professor?' the gyroid was busy cooking lunch at the kitchen.

'Nano! Nano!' The little girl in white robes hurried to her. She suddenly hugged Nano from the back, putting her in surprise. 'I've invented something new for you!' she exclaimed.

'Jeez, Professor. I'm cooking. Can you tell me about it later when I am finished with this fish?' she poured some oil into the frying pan.

'No!' complained the Professor. 'Nano must know now! I demand it!'

'Oi, little brat,' interrupted Sakamoto, the black cat. 'Can't you see that she is busy?'

'But…' Tears started to appear in the Professor's eyes.

'Alright, alright. I'll listen to you, okay?' said Nano, who finally could not stand the eight-year-old girl. She switched off the stove and put her apron away in a corner. 'What is it that you have invented?'

'Ta-Da!' The Professor pointed to a strange device outside the kitchen. It looked like a large rectangular box made out of glass, tall and wide enough to probably accommodate one person inside. At the front there was a door-shaped hole with all sorts of glittering lights on top. Linked to the large box was a cable, which was connected to a control panel beside. There were many different and strange-looking buttons on the control panel.

'W… What is that, Professor?'

'It's the Shinonome Time Machine,' explained the Professor excitedly. 'I invented it for you, Nano. You said you want to time travel, isn't it?'

'Oh yeah…' Nano suddenly recalled the conversation they had the other night. 'But I didn't say I want to time travel! I only mentioned it because I read it on a book!'

'He he… You are lying, Nano…' chuckled the Professor. Nano realized that her face was already gleaming with delight. She embarrassedly hid it with her hands.

'Time travel! Time travel! Now I can see how the world was like before I was born!' Nano's heart was jumping up and down.

'Now then…' said the Professor, moving towards the time machine. '…Who will go on it? It can only fit one person, sadly.'

'Me!' Nano couldn't hide her excitement anymore. The wind-up key on her back turned and turned and turned.

'He he…' the Professor laughed evilly. 'I choose you, Sakamoto!'

Nano froze.

'Oi, little brat. Let Nano go, I want to sleep,' the cat yawned and cuddled himself in his comfortable position.

'Eh, it's no fun, Sakamoto…' The Professor was a bit depressed that her 'evil plan' to scare Nano did not work out. 'Never mind then. Nano, you'll go!'

'Professor!' chirped Nano happily, hugging the little girl. 'I love you, Professor!'

Nano stepped into the transparent box. She could sense her heart thumping with joy. 'Now… To the world before I was born!'

'Are you ready?' asked the Professor. She was busy setting up the machine. 'When do you want to go, Nano?'

'Can I go to the past, Professor?'

'Alright, but it can only go back to four years at most,' explained the Professor.

'Then let's go back to four years ago!' Nano made her decision.

'Ah!' The Professor suddenly remembered something. 'This time machine only works for two hours. After two hours, you must come back, or else you will be stuck in the past and can never return!'

'What?' Nano was a bit disappointed. 'Never mind, at least I can still time travel.'

'Alright then…' The Professor pushed a few buttons on her control panel. 'Ready to launch…'

'5… 4…' Nano closed her eyes and embraced herself.

'3… 2… 1…'

There was a bright flash of light and Nano disappeared. Sakamoto took a big yawn and went back to his sweet dreams.

'Now, according to the Shinonome Law of Time and Space…' the Professor said to herself in a serious tone. '…Nano, you will do something very important for me. Something that will start the gears of cause-and-effect…'

* * *

><p>Buzz!<p>

When Shinonome Nano opened her eyes once more, she found herself alone.

'Where am I?' she stepped out of the big transparent box and looked around. It was a familiar place. The same wooden floor, the same walls, the same old roof, the same shark drawings, even the same appliances in the place that she imagined would be the kitchen. The only difference was that there weren't any people in the house.

'Oh… So I'm back in the Shinonome residence four years ago. What's the time now?' she looked up to see the clock on the wall. The hour hand pointed at nine. 'So it's nine in the morning. I have until eleven to look around the town.'

Nano observed around the house. 'Is anybody here?' she shouted as she visited the rooms. But nobody replied her calls.

'Where could the Professor have gone to at this time?' she wondered.

Nano noticed a piece of yellow paper stuck by a magnet on the refrigerator wall. A note. She removed the magnet with a shark design, taking a look at the note:

_Dear,_

_I'm taking our daughter out for a day. Lunch's in the fridge. Will come back in the afternoon._

_Love,_

_Your wife._

_P/S: Don't overdo yourself. We still have a trip to Europe next week. _

'So it's a note written by the Professor's mother to her father…' Nano deduced, reading the neat handwriting on the yellow paper. She stuck it back on to the refrigerator wall with the magnet. 'Hmm… So they've gone to the theme park. I wonder how the Professor's mother looks like…'

Out of curiosity, Nano left the house and headed towards the theme park. 'It should be at the same place,' she thought to herself. She had played with Mai and Yuuko there once before, and its location was deeply etched in her mind.

'So here we are,' Nano took a deep breath after a ten minutes' walk. She reminded herself that she could not afford to waste anymore time.

The teenage girl strolled into the entrance. 'How lucky. I don't have to buy any ticket to enter the theme park four years ago,' she giggled.

'Ah!' Nano suddenly froze. She remembered that the wind-up key was still attached to her back. 'Oh my, how would the people four years ago react if they see a robot? This is not good!'

She looked to her left, then to her right. Nobody seemed to notice her wind-up key. Nano let our a sigh of relief and walked along the small pathway leading to the rides.

Not much had changed over the four years. The famous Ferris wheel, the teacups and also her favorite merry-go-round. Nano broke a sweat as she remembered her first time going on the rollercoaster. It was a nightmare.

Nano had a great time walking around there. Nobody was interrupting her, nor were there little kids who stopped by, bedazzled by the wind-up key on her back.

* * *

><p>Exhausted by all the walking, Nano came to rest at a garden. It was a perfect place to rest her mechanical legs, serene and relaxing.<p>

'Mommy! Mommy!'

Out of a blue, from a distance wailed a voice. Nano hurried over to see who it was.

Beside a large tree stood a tiny girl, about four to five years old. She had short, light brown hair and was wearing a white robe with a red tie inside.

Nano instantly recognized who she was. Her creator, the kid who was perhaps the youngest inventor in the whole world – Shinonome Hakase.

'But, would it be good for me to talk to her? I mean, she still hasn't invented me at that time yet,' she said to herself in her mind.

Nano looked at the weeping girl and felt pity for her. 'Never mind then, I should help her no matter what.'

'Hey, what's your name, little girl?' she pretended that she didn't know the Professor.

'Eight one eleven one eighteen five!' the young Professor blurted out.

'What?' Nano was confused by the Professor's self-introduction. 'Can you say your name again?'

'Jeez…' the Professor wiped away the tears in her eyes. 'That was such an easy code.'

'Four and she could talk like that now? And she know codes?' thought a surprised Nano. 'No wonder she's the Professor.'

'Sorry, but I don't really know what's the code. Care to explain it to me?' Nano put on an ignorant look.

'Let me explain to you then. Just substitute the numbers with letters of the alphabet.'

'Huh?' Nano was still very confused.

'Just take one for A, two for B, three for C, and so on.'

'Oh!' Nano exclaimed. 'So eight is H, one is A, eleven is K, one is A, eighteen is S and five is E, H-A-K-A-S-E, Hakase!' she was amazed by the Professor's intelligence. 'But, who actually names her daughter Professor?' ('Hakase' means 'Professor' in Japanese)

'And why were you crying just now, Professor?' asked Nano with a smile.

'Crying? Who's crying just now?' The Professor was clearly trying to feign ignorance. 'Oh, it's just some particles of silicon dioxide blown into my eyes.'

'Don't escape from the facts, Professor.'

'Just joking, Nano…' laughed the young Professor.

'Nano? How did you know my name?' the robot was surprised.

'I thought it would be a good name if I make a robot like you in the future,' replied the Professor.

'R… Robot?'

'Yeah, just look at that wind-up key on your back,' said the Professor, pointing to the strange device on Nano's back. 'Somebody stole my design for a robot…' she complained.

'Anyway, Nano, can you help me take that balloon? Its stuck on the tree and I can't reach it,' the Professor pointed her tiny finger at the red balloon dangling on a branch.

'Sure, why not?' said Nano, reaching out her hand to take the balloon.

'Jeez, I won't need help from a robot if I can grow as tall as you…' complained the Professor as she received the balloon from Nano's hand.

'Professor, say thank you to the girl.'

A voice from the back suddenly frightened both of them. Nano turned around to see who it was. Standing beside the young Professor was a woman, with the same short brown hair and wearing the same white robes. She looked exactly like the Professor.

'Mommy!' exclaimed the Professor excitedly.

'Say thank you,' instructed the Professor's mother. Her daughter could only do as what she said.

Nano could not help but let out a chuckle.

* * *

><p>'I really appreciate your help, miss. What's your name?' asked the mother.<p>

'Nano, madam.'

Both of them chatted as they strolled along the garden. The Professor was busy playing with her balloon.

'Actually my husband and I are going to Europe next week. For research. We won't probably be able to come back for the next ten years, at least. So I decided to take my time off from work and accompany my daughter for one last time.' Nano listened quietly as the Professor's mother explained.

They stopped before a fountain. Nano could still remember the last time she and Mio tossed coins into the fountain water to wish for good grades in the examination. The water was much crystal clear four years ago.

'What about the Professor? Who is going to look after her?'

'Hakase, yeah? Hakase has already been awarded a study scholarship from the government. She'll be transferring to Tokyo University next week, so I don't really need to worry about her…' the woman let out a sigh of relief. 'Although she hasn't chose her area of study yet.'

'Mommy! I've decided!' shouted the young Professor happily as she jumped in the direction of Nano and her mother.

'I would love to hear your decision. What is it, Professor?'

'I'm going to learn Robotics! To build robots like her!' she pointed towards Nano, much to the poor gyroid's surprise. 'With robots, they could help me with the housework! I could invent a machine to help me take my balloon and never let it slip away from my hand! I could also use them to catch sharks for me!'

Nano smiled in relief. 'The Professor sure likes sharks, after all.'

She looked at the clock. 'Oh no, it's ten fifty now! I have to go home!' she suddenly realized the Professor's reminder to her.

'Goodbye, Mrs. Shinonome. I'm sure that your daughter will be fine,' she assured the woman.

'Thank you, Miss Nano. I'm also sure that she will become a great inventor one day,' the woman smiled to her.

'It was I…' Nano thought to herself as she waved the woman goodbye. '…I made the Professor a scientist. And she designed me from the girl who inspired her four years ago…'

She ran and ran, away from the garden, out of the theme park, and straight back to the Shinonome Research Laboratory, where she originally came from. By the time she reached the time machine, tears already started to well up in her eyes. She did not know why she started to cry.

'It's probably some particles of silicon dioxide blown into my eyes…' she joked to herself and laughed like a silly old woman.

Nano smiled to herself and entered the glass box. She made sure that she had not exceeded the time limit and closed her eyes. There was a sudden flash of light and the box disappeared along with her.

* * *

><p>'Nano! Nano! There's mail for you!'<p>

It was another harmonious day at the Shinonome residence.

'Alright, I'm coming!' Nano put down the clothes she was hanging out to dry.

'There you go,' said Hakase, as she handed a white envelope over to Nano.

Nano opened the envelope and started to read out the neatly written words on the letter:

_Dear Ms. Nano,_

_I would like to appreciate for the help you have offered to make my daughter who she is today. Because of you, Shinonome Hakase can be the scientist she wants to be. Thank you very much._

_Regards,_

_Hakase's mother._

Nano smiled. 'Ah, it feels so good to have helped out someone!'

She continued to read the rest of the letter:

_P/S: Don't park your time machine at my place again! _

Nano froze at that last sentence.

* * *

><p>...<p>

_One Last Author's Note_: Confused? The woman who accompanied her daughter to the theme park is Hakase's mother (also a great inventor) who has time traveled from the future back to the past. She feels guilty for not being able to be with her daughter after she leaves for Europe, hence she goes back in time to spend her last moments with her daughter. The whereabouts of the real Hakase's mother at that time is a mystery. The note on the fridge that Nano saw was not the original note. It was forged by Hakase's mother who has time traveled to the past.

- _Project M.G., 2012_


End file.
